Under certain regulations in intercollegiate (e.g., NCAA) athletics, teams may be limited in the number of hours in which they can use certain equipment. For example, in soccer, NCAA rules limit the number of hours per week that an athlete can practice using an actual soccer ball. The game of soccer requires footwork training which is difficult to replicate without a soccer ball. Accordingly, a need is felt for training equipment that mimics or replicates footwork skills that can be practiced and/or perfected without using a soccer ball.
Similarly, certain drills or repetitive exercises can be performed to enhance one's agility and/or hand-eye or foot-eye coordination. However, it is not always possible to get real-time data on performances of such drills or exercises, and analysis of performance over time may be even more lacking. In addition, in team sports or group activities, where there may be many users in a relatively confined space, and use of spherical or substantially spherical objects as training tools introduces a safety hazard for the users. They may not see or recognize when a nearby user loses control of the object, which can roll into the path or training area of another user, who can inadvertently step on the object and lose their balance. While this risk is present outdoors and indoors, it is particularly high indoors, where walls and other surfaces constrain available space and increase the probability of a ricochet or deflected ball creating a safety issue.
Also, fitness enthusiasts continually seek new and more interesting challenges for improving one's fitness, strength, endurance and/or agility. Real-time feedback is important to fitness enthusiasts who seek such information to determine the effectiveness of a particular fitness regimen.
Finally, physical therapists are continually looking for tools and techniques for improving agility and/or strength of certain muscles or muscle groups in patients in need of such strength and/or conditioning therapy. Often, games involving physical activity are effective in assisting those in need of therapy to improve agility and/or strength of certain muscles or muscle groups.